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A man was murdered in Burrell Boom Village early on Saturday morning and tonight his family are pointing fingers at his common law wife. She is Kimberly McLaughlin who is claiming that armed men barged into the house around 1 am on saturday and chopped Anthony Herrera in the neck. Here’s the story.

Keith Swift Reporting,
Anthony “Antiks” Herrera was killed inside this house, located behind the horse track in Burrell Boom Village.

Det. Cpl. Jorge Lemus, Lead Investigator
“Police received information concerning a chopping incident at the Burrell Boom Horse Track. As a result we visited the location where we discovered the lifeless body of a male person lying on a bed, in a house beside the horse track. It was learnt to be the deceased, Mr. Anthony Herrera, who is the caretaker of the said horse track. What we have received is that two male attackers entered the house in the wee hours of the morning and inflicted the chop wounds on Mr. Herrera.”

Keith Swift,
The police say that they asleep, two men came in and they killed your brother. Do you believe that story?

Jocelyn Williams, Sister of Deceased
“No. I don’t believe it.”

Betty Jean Herrera, Sister of Anthony Herrera
“I don’t really know. I can’t judge it but according to the statement and the understanding I heard is that she was in the house and she came out five o’clock in the morning. She said that she covered him, the jackers told her to cover him, and she did everything the jackers said but she said she didn’t do it, two masked men did it and the machete was right there which they killed him with.”

The family has a hard time believing Kimberly McLaughlin, seen here in footage from May of 2006, because she took 5 hours before calling police.

Niece of Deceased,
“She stayed in the house until morning, she stayed in the house. She told we that she bathe, she passed everybody when she was going to catch the bus, and didn’t inform the police or nobody that knew my uncle and tell them somebody jacked him and he was in there dead. She waited until she reached Belize City at quarter to nine and she didn’t go straight to the police station, she went to her niece and tell her niece that Antiks dead and then her niece took her to police station so that sounds stupid for something like that to happen.”

Betty Jean Herrera,
“Nothing nice they had because she came out of jail went straight to him because he used to take care of her in jail and they lived there for five months.”

Niece of Deceased,
“The girl Kim, they didn’t have a happy relationship because he said she always used to go and come and she threatened him and he said that either he would kill her or she would kill him but it turns around and she did the killing. I don’t know if it is her but….”

The lead investigator says police aren’t jumping to any conclusions.

Det. Cpl. Jorge Lemus,
“At this time we are investigating and we have a female detained at the station who is assisting us in the investigation at this time.”

Keith Swift,
Do you believe she is involved?

Det. Cpl. Jorge Lemus,
“At this time the investigation is pretty young and we are interviewing her and that is as far as it is right now.”

Keith Swift,
Was anything stolen from the house?

Det. Cpl. Jorge Lemus,
“Nothing to our knowledge was stolen; nothing to our knowledge.”

But what was stolen is the life of a man – the second of the Herrera brothers to die in less than six months.

Niece of Deceased,
“She took away something for us at a time when you should be with your family.”

Keith Swift,
You’ll miss your uncle?

Niece of Deceased,
“Of course.”

Keith Swift,
Were you and him close?

Niece of Deceased,
“Not really close because he is a uncle who likes to keep to himself but every time he came, he talked to us and every time he came he always had something to say about the girl because he said they always fought and quarrel and I just can’t believe he would end up dead like that.”

Kimberly McLaughlin is detained but has not been charged. As we mentioned in the story, McLaughlin, then under the name Kimberly Brannon was recently released from jail where she was remanded for killing her ex-boyfriend Paul Gonzalez and injuring another woman - Ruby Turner Mendez in Orange Walk in May of 2006. It was allegedly done in a jealous rage.

We also mentioned that this is the second Herrera brother to sie this year since Anthony’s older brother, James, drowned in the river under the Bel-China Bridge on August 4th.